Cruz’s Contract Details, ‘A New Hope’ For Bears, an Ace in the Slot, and Other Bullets

Jun 02, 2017

If there was any doubt whose team it was, allow Dan Durkin of The Athletic to put any thoughts to the contrary to bed:

By my count, 79 of the players on the #Bears' current 90-man roster were brought in by Ryan Pace. It's his team.

— dan durkin (@djdurkin) June 1, 2017

This is Ryan Pace’s team, and will be going forward. The jury is still out on some of Pace’s picks, but the further the team moves away from the Phil Emery era, the better they will be as time goes on.

Earlier, if you missed it, Cameron Meredith has a bum thumb, and it may require surgery.

Staying with wide receivers, Brad Biggs provides some details on Victor Cruz’s one-year contract worth $4 million. Among the nuggets, Cruz will receive $500,000 in per-game roster bonuses ($31,250 per game) and up to $1.125 million in touchdown bonuses as part of incentives that could net Cruz an additional $2 million.

Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes that Willie Young has high hopes and a refreshed sense of optimism as he looks ahead to the Bears’ 2017 season, comparing the upcoming season to a Star Wars film, fittingly titled ‘A New Hope.’ This will be Young’s fourth with the team, and young has been productive as both a defensive end under Marc Trestman’s regime and a linebacker playing for John Fox. Young adds that it’s the defense that has to carry some of the load in helping whichever quarterback is under center this season.

Pro Football Focus’ Daniel Cohen weighs in on the Bears’ signing of fullback Michael Burton. Cohen believes that Burton is a significant upgrade to what Paul Lasike provided in limited action in 2016.

The Bears spent $12.35 million in guarantees this season to add Prince Amukamara, Marcus Cooper, and B.W. Webb to their group of cornerbacks, but don’t sleep on what Bryce Callahan did while playing in the slot in 2016:

Although he played the majority of his snaps outside, when @Bree2Land6 lined up in the slot, he yielded the lowest passer rating in the NFL. pic.twitter.com/tyfF03qDHP
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) June 1, 2017

Callahan isn’t a household name, but his 72.9 passer rating allowed – the NFL’s second best among those who played a minimum of 131 snaps in the slot – is an encouraging sign for a secondary that will take as many positives at it can get entering the 2017 season.

Arthur Arkush of Pro Football Weekly shines the spotlight on what he sees as the NFL’s most improved position groups. The Bears aren’t listed here, but quarterback Deshaun Watson’s presence helped put the Houston Texans on the list. Arkush writes the Bears’ current quarterback situation of Mike Glennon and Mitch Trubisky isn’t an upgrade from Jay Cutler and Brian Hoyer, who were the opening tandem from 2016.

Former Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and his wife Kristin Cavallari have put their Lake Forest mansion on the market, listing the seven-bedroom, 11,000-square-foot property for $4.75 million. Cutler’s former home features a wine cellar, half-court basketball court, home theater, and five fireplaces – or everything I’ve ever wanted in a home. Anyone want to help split the costs?

written by

Luis C. Medina

Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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